Earlier this month, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names—a federal body—approved a plan that would remove the word “Negro” from 16 different place names in the state of Texas. Thousands of cities across the United States still bear racist names, and local officials across Texas are praising the decision to remove the word from these place names. According to Axios, Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis said in a statement:
“This day has been a long time coming, but I am proud to see this change finally happen…I hope that the [U.S. Board on Geographic Names] will build on the progress made today in Texas, and work with other groups across the country to ensure that all racially offensive names are erased from the public domain.”